We’re not getting what most hoped for on Saturday in Los Angeles: a Game of the Year type of affair between Oregon and USC.

The No. 2 Ducks (8-0, 5-0 Pac-12) have done their part thus far, leading the nation in scoring (53.4 ppg) and outscoring opponents by an unreal average of 34 points.

The 18th-ranked Trojans (6-2, 4-2) have not, losing at Stanford and, last time out, at Arizona and performing worse than expected on both sides of the ball.

But enough with the negativity, right? This is Oregon-USC. This is inherently big. Huge, even. That’s our story, and we’re sticking to it.

“There’s no time to sit around and whine about the (Arizona) game with one of the best teams in the country, if not the best team in the country, coming in here,” USC coach Lane Kiffin said this week.

Our thoughts exactly.

On the line

For the Ducks, the answer to that is obvious—they’re trying to win their way into the BCS title game. Which is, frankly, what they do 24/7/365.

“If you want to have a vision of what you want to get done and what you want to accomplish,” coach Chip Kelly said this week, “then you’d better take each game like it’s the Super Bowl. To us, it’s a real simple formula. … I don’t understand why people take it differently.”

Those people being total losers who dare drop a single game.

Which brings us to the Trojans. They’re aiming for the Rose Bowl now—not that there’s anything wrong with that—and to get there, they’re clearly going to have to beat Oregon at least once. If they can’t do it now, there’s no guarantee they’ll get to the Pac-12 title game—let alone that, if they lose to the Ducks then, they won't have the credentials needed to make it to Pasadena.

Which is a long way of saying the Trojans—8 1/2-point underdogs, according to Las Vegas—need to pull off the upset on Saturday.

Sideline view

Don’t be surprised when both coaching staffs take some of the explosiveness out of this matchup. USC has arguably the best quarterback in the country in Matt Barkley and undeniably the best set of wideouts in Marqise Lee and Robert Woods, but Kiffin would be crazy not to find out if he can hammer running back Silas Redd at the Ducks defense and drain precious seconds off the clock.

Oregon will run the ball with great confidence, too. Senior back Kenjon Barner will get a lot of carries, as will quarterback Marcus Mariota. How the Ducks use gamebreaker De’Anthony Thomas is less important than how well they out-physical USC’s defensive front, which is slighter and less punishing than it once was.

The Trojans’ improved quickness could be a factor, but not if the Ducks are able to control the line of scrimmage. And the advantage there seems to be with Oregon’s offensive line. Of course, Mariota’s off-the-charts athleticism negates much of USC’s speed in the front seven anyway.

Critical matchup

If USC’s offensive line holds up, there’s no reason to believe Oregon cornerbacks Terrance Mitchell and Ifo Ekpre-Olomu will be able to hang with Lee and Woods. The Ducks are better than ever on defense, but they’re dealing with superstars in the Trojans passing game. Lee, the best receiver in the country, is coming off a 16-catch, 345-yard, two-touchdown masterpiece in the loss at Arizona.

Backpedal

USC’s 38-35 win in Eugene last November is the biggest reason a Trojans victory on Saturday is imaginable. Barkley went off for 323 yards passing and four touchdowns—two of them to Woods and one to Lee, who had eight catches for 187 yards. USC also made hay in the running game. This undoubtedly gives Kiffin and his team confidence—and possibly a blueprint—for more of the same.

The pick: Oregon 37, USC 31. The home field will help USC stay close. Barkley and Lee, especially, are not to be taken lightly. But Oregon is better—on both sides of the ball—and will pull it out in the end.